Many people are irritable because they are always in a hurry, running from emergency to emergency. As with every area of life, God’s word gives us the antidote to our irritability when we consider three things:
God always walked
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. . .
Matthew 14:26-27 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified . . .But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Imagine God, the most powerful and mighty being in all the universe, walking. If He is all this, why would He need to walk? When God walks, it doesn’t mean that He isn’t powerful or mighty. It means that He is even MORE than we think he is. Let’s look at this verse:
Psalm 139:7-10 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
God can be anywhere, anytime. He just CHOOSES to walk because He knows how to take His time.
Jesus never hurried
Mark 1:35-39 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ And he said to them, ‘Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.’ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus never hurried in carrying out his mission on earth. He would oftentimes disappear from his disciples and large crowds just to pray to the Father. Even during the times when his disciples (and even Mary and Joseph at one point) would go off looking for him, he would never seem irritated or in a haste to leave.
Jesus only preached for three years, and in one area of the world. Yet thousands of years later, the Gospel still continues to penetrate all over the earth.
The essence of love is patience
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind . . .
If you notice in the Scripture above, patience is the first definition of love. Not the second, not the third… the first! I used to wonder what Paul, the writer of this book, was trying to imply by choosing to write down patience first. And then it hit me—patience is the first telltale sign of love. How do you know if this person loves you and vice versa? Patience.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- Who do you think tends to be more irritable: men or women? Defend your answer.
- At what point of your week (or day) are you most in a hurry? What triggers that hurry? Do you find yourself to be more irritable at that time?
- Who is the most hurried person you know? How does it affect his or her mood?
- Name a person you know who has a surprising sense of calm, even though he or she is often busy. How do you think they do it?
- Read Mark 1:35-39. With such a great mission ahead of him, why do you think that Jesus never hurried?
- Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Which item in the list is your weakest point? Which is your strongest point?
- What is one thing you can commit to doing this week in order to be more patient?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
